Construction sector growth beats forecasts

A growth spurt for Britain’s builders means the wider economy expanded more quickly than first thought in the opening three months of 2014, the Office for National Statistics said today.

Data revisions showed construction output up 1.5% between January and March — more than twice as fast as initial estimates of 0.6%.

That will add 0.1 percentage point to the overall pace of first-quarter growth, taking it from 0.8% to 0.9%. Construction output rose 1.2% in April.

Chris Williamson at financial data firm Markit said: “The construction data follow news that the manufacturing sector was also booming in April, suggesting the economy is on course for another spell of strong growth, perhaps 0.8%, in the second quarter.”

The building boom looks likely to continue after the Chancellor also unveiled changes to planning rules which could allow as many as 200,000 homes to be built on former industrial sites in urban areas.